KEN, ANNE AND ELEANOR

 

The Holocaust was a reminder to us…

besides being a most horrific crime…

that dark forces of evil and intolerance 

have been flowing since the dawn of time.

If you want a sampling of how cruel and inhuman 

we, who call ourselves human, can be…

I’ll be frank…watch Ken Burns’s ‘The U. S. 

and the Holocaust’ and read Anne’s diary.

An innocent young child who, because of her religion, 

faced unimaginable enmity and strife…

who never had the chance to grow old…

to have a long and happy life.

She was but one of millions of Jewish people 

who, at the hands of the Nazis, died…

a crime so horrific it didn’t have a word to describe it…

it does not…genocide.

But as I watched Ken Burns ‘Holocaust’ and read Anne’s words…thinking no crimes have ever been as gruesome as these…

I began to wonder if there were other children in the world 

who have written similar diaries.

Looking back on the history of humankind…

I imagine there are a few…

and as difficult as it would be to hear their words…

I think we need to read them too.

Other groups of humans 

whose annihilation was in other human’s plans…

If these children had written diaries…

would their words be similar to Anne’s?

From Native Americans, Blacks, people of color, women 

who have endured so much torture and pain…

to LGBTQ+ people all over the world 

and most recently…the people of Ukraine.

There are times when the stream of evil begins to overflow its banks 

and no matter how much we pray…

its waters rush in determined to eliminate 

anyone who gets in their way.

When groups of people are signaled out…belittled…

made to feel different and small….

until more diaries our discovered…

Anne’s words must speak for them all.

Anne never got to finish her diary…

she died just before the end of the war….

but I imagine she wouldn’t mind if it was finished 

with words from Eleanor…

Eleanor…who throughout it all…remained steadfast…

resolute and strong….

She said there can be no compromise at any point 

with things that we know are wrong.

Perhaps one way to keep the stream of evil contained…

to keep it from overflowing its shore…

would be to watch Ken’s series

read through the pages of Anne’s diary…

and heed the words of Eleanor.

TRULY BLESSED

 

If we are healthy, 

have enough money to spend, 

and enough food to eat,

we are truly lucky…

and life is sweet

If we have a safe place to lay our head at night

If we can read and write

we are truly lucky 

and life is bright.

If we have people we love…who love us back…

If we are surrounded by love…not hate

we are truly lucky 

and life is truly great.

And…If we should possess all these in our life

Then…may I suggest:

we are more than truly lucky

we are truly blessed

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVA

Our youngest grandchild turns 16 today…I know you must be shook…

the fact that she’s 16 years old…means I‘m much older than I look!

Her birthday elicited in me a memory…older minds do this…as a rule…

It was back when she fractured her arm one day in elementary school.

Attached to this memory is another memory of when I was young…it was a day in early spring…when I found on the ground before me…a baby bird…with a broken wing.

I looked around but saw no nest...and with no time to wonder why

I picked her up, took her home then nursed her till she could fly.

There seems to be an innate quality in most of us...the impulse to be humane

by providing assistance to the weak...as we try to relieve their pain.

But this is not uniquely human...in the animal kingdom it is a running theme.

proving our world, when we stop to look, is not as ruthless as it seems.

It’s amazing where survival of the fittest is the rallying cry we sing

there are still some creatures who take the time to help those with broken wings.

Perhaps it’s one way to show the rest of us (I don’t think this too bizarre) 

that all life in this world is precious no matter who or what you are.

That we must remember through the grace of God we are naturally selected

that no matter how you choose to slice it...we are, somehow, all connected.

That we should be treating every living thing with dignity and grace

That for every broken wing we fix...we make the world a better place.

So on your 16th birthday, Ava…

as once again we sing Happy Birthday 

and many congratulations to you are spoken…

just a reminder we will be here if you need us…

any time your wing is broken.

 

LOVE EXPLAINED

 

Another day had ended and with her favorite fairy tale read…my daughter asked me,

"Mommy, what is love?” as I tucked her into bed.

And so I did what parents do when they’re not sure what to say…I took a deep breath and started talking…hoping I’d find the right words to say.

Hoping great insights would come to me as I scanned the recesses of my brain…

“Love,” I said holding her hand and stalling for time, “love is not so easy to explain.”

Then doing my best to answer in words I hoped she’d understand 

I said,“Love isn’t something you see…you can’t hold it in your hands.”

“Yet love can be found everywhere…it floats upon the wind…it glides upon the sea…

It’s in every creature large and small…it’s in you…and it’s in me.”

“Love will only blossom when two loves are intertwined…

Love is beautiful, compassionate, forgiving…love is wonderful and kind.” 

“Love grows from somewhere deep inside us…it is the music in our heart…

It’s something that we share when we’re together 

and whenever we’re apart.”

“Love transforms throughout the years…from the time we’re young…till the time we’re grown…love is caring for someone else’s happiness more than you care about your own.”

“Love is as wonderful when it is old as it was when it was new…

I believe, when it comes to love…it’s something we are born to do.”

When I thought I’d said enough…when my ramblings were through…I smiled at my daughter and asked, “By the way…what is love to you?”

She thought about it for a moment then her eyes lit up and with a child’s innocence proclaimed, “I think love is what makes me smile every time I say your name.”

What is love? was the question my daughter asked me at the end of a beautiful day…

and the next time someone asks me…

I know exactly what I’m going to say.

BEFORE THE STORM

 

One of the chilling aspects of a hurricane is how, from hundreds of miles away, you get to watch it form…and all the time you have to think…

and prepare…

before the storm.

The storm forms in the ocean…somewhere way out to sea…

and your first hope is that you don’t end up in the cone of uncertainty.

But even when you do, when the predictions that the hurricane will hit you are strong…you keep praying…wishing…and hoping…that the weatherman is wrong.

You’re filled with mixed emotions…knowing the hurricane is going to devastate…

but not knowing when, exactly, or who…

knowing it’s going to land on someone…somewhere…

and praying that someone isn’t you.

As you prepare for what might happen…what that eventual hurricane might do…

It gives you time to reevaluate the things, in life, that are important to you.

Your first thoughts and calls and texts go out to friends and family…

You want them to know you’re thinking about them 

and that they’re as safe as they can be.

Once you’ve secured your house as best you can…

and you know your children, grandchildren and friends are safe and warm…

you’re satisfied you’ve done all you can 

to prepare…

before the storm.

Then you wait as the storm approaches…

content the love of your friends and family is strong….

and as you hold on to one another…

you keep hoping…

the weatherman is wrong.

SEMI-COLON

 

A young boy stopped in the bookstore…he said, “Hello, sir. How are you? I hope you’re doing well.”  On second thought I think he was a teenager…the older I get the harder it is to tell.

“I have a question he whispered.” Moving closer in on me. “I promise to be brief.  Do you have any books in your store on understanding grief?”

We found a book he was happy with and his next words cut me like a knife, “Only a few weeks ago,” he said, “my brother took his life.”

He held the book up to his chest…holding it tightly in his hand.

“I’m hoping to find some words in here that will help me understand.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” I said, “and I know it will always seem unfair…

but wherever your brother is…I imagine he’s happy knowing that you care.”

He handed me his book to purchase but before the transaction was done…

I took out a pen and drew a semi-colon  ;  in the middle of page one.

“This semi-colon is a reminder,” I said, “that your grief is something you don’t need to hide.  It’s a symbol for anyone dealing with depression…or suicide.”

“An author uses a semi-colon when he could have ended a sentence…but instead chose not to…in this case the sentence is your life and the author…well that be you.”

I told him about Project Semicolon…something he hadn’t known…

as a resource in case he needs it…as a way of showing him he’s not alone.

As he left the store…I hoped I helped…at least I know I tried…

and I thought how sad…how sorrowful it is when someone decides on suicide.

Sad that suicide was the only answer…the only solution they could find

Sad not only for the victim…but for all the victims they leave behind.

WHY...THE SEQUEL

 

My first day talking to the creators would be filled with question about nature whose answers I’ve long awaited…the second day I’d start with nature then begin asking about the humans they created.

Why create a world so beautiful…why go to such extremes…such pains…

then create forces of destruction…like earthquakes, tornadoes…and hurricanes?

In this beautiful world you created…where the trees grow tall and the rivers flow…

why is there so much sadness…so much sorrow…so much woe?

When you saw humans creating their false hierarchy…and sitting certain ones atop it…why oh why creators…did you not try and stop it?

Why would you take so much time creating a universe….so much planning and patience and care…then allow us to abuse her…by polluting her lands, her seas, her air?

If you meant us to live in harmony with the Earth and all her creatures why would you let us choose to hunt them, to capture them for sport…and to imprison them in zoos?

Why once you created humans…would you then allow us to create…a world that’s filled with prejudice, with bigotry and hate?

Why would you create us with a thinking mind…with determination and free will

then watch us go to war with each other and manufacture weapons that can kill? 

So many of our own we have mistreated…people of color, women…anyone who’s a little bit different or gay…why would you allow us to treat other human beings this way?

Slavery, concentration camps, taking people’s dignity…their land…

why would you let these things happen…these are things I do not understand.

Of course the answer to these…and questions like them…

must wait until we meet with our creators…our true fathers our true mothers….

perhaps in the meantime…

while we wait…

these are questions…

we should be asking one another?